Especially in high piracy markets, software costs have dropped dramatically. Software companies also offer several low-cost monthly plans. It's now cheap to go with the licensed options, says Karan Bajaj.

PROGRAMS

Microsoft Office Rs 360month or Rs 3,629year

Office is one of the most preferred (and the most pirated) software suites for Windows and MAC users. The price mentioned is for Office 365's Personal Edition which is for a single user -you can install it on one PC or MAC, one tablet and one smartphone. This gives you access to Word , Excel , PowerPoint , OneNote, Outlook, Publisher and Access. To sweeten the deal, Microsoft is giving you 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage included in the price. If you have multiple users, then you can go for Office 365 Home Edition that offers the same features for 5 users. This is Rs.460 month or Rs. 4,619 year.

Adobe Photoshop & Lightroom Rs 676 month or Rs 8,112 year

When it comes to photo editing, most of the enthusiast and pro users tend to use Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom (sometimes both).Obviously there are many other tools available (some freeopensource and others that are webbased), but Adobe's offerings stand out because of their extensive feature and numerous addons. Under a single Creative Cloud account, Adobe offers users both Photoshop CC and Lightroom CC for a low price.This also gives you access to Lightroom for mobile, Photoshop Fix, Photoshop Mix, Adobe Spark Page, Adobe Spark Post, Adobe Spark Video, Adobe Premier Clip and Portfolio website service.

Security Suite Rs 499 onwards

This is one area where people prefer to save money, simply because there are so many good, free options. However, the free options typically lack advanced features and offer limited protection. When you purchase a security suite, most vendors ( Kaspersky, AVG, Norton , McAfee, Avast, Eset etc.) offer a combination of features like Firewall, parental controls, online backup, spam control, antitheft and bunch of other handy utilities along with regular updates. Security suites usually require annual renewal and you can get it for a single user or multiple users depending on your requirements.

Computer Maintenance Rs. 499 onwards

The best way to keep your computer running smoothly is by regular maintenance -both on a hardware and software level.You can get free software to do the job but most of these options offer basic issue detection and solving capabilities. To keep your computer in shape, you will need to invest in PC utilities software such as AVG Tuneup, Glary Utilities Pro, System Mechanic, Clean my Mac, CCleaner Professional, Slim cleaner etc. These maintenance apps clean up your system (remove junk and temporary files), fix registry entries, manage startup, boost performance, uninstall programs properly and optimize your overall system to work better.

PAID SERVICES THAT ARE WELL WORTH IT

Google Storage Rs 130month for 100GB

For casual users, Google's default free storage space is more than enough. However, if you use all of Google's services (Gmail, Photos, Docs, Drive etc.) you will realize that the free space gets consumed within a few months.Google offers one of the cheapest cloud storage options and the space can be used across all of its services.

There are many video streaming services now available in India. You get access to loads of movies, TV shows and documentaries via these services on the devices of your choice. We recommend checking out Amazon Prime Video ( Rs. 999 year), Netflix ( Rs. 500 month), Hotstar ( Rs. 199month), Alt Balaji ( Rs. 100 for 3 months), Airtel movies ( Rs. 49month) and Hooq ( Rs. 69 month onwards). Some of these apps also offer free content. They are typically available for different devices like smartphones, tablets, game consoles, smart TVs and smart TV connected devices.

Cloud Storage Rs 700 month for 1TB

Dropbox is one of the best options when it comes to storing and syncing data across multiple devices. A free account gives you just 2GB storage which will take a day to fill up if you plan to move a lot of stuff on the cloud. Go for a Dropbox Plus plan that gives you 1TB of storage with no limit on number of computer devices you can link with your account.

Music Streaming Rs 89 month onwards

Music lovers now have multiple streaming services for regional and international music. While most let you stream in standard quality for free, if you go for the paid options, you get advanced features such as offline playback, higher quality streaming and an ad-free experience. Check out Gaana ( Rs. 297 for 3 months), Saavn ( Rs. 99 month), Apple music ( Rs. 120 month), Google Play Music ( Rs. 89 month), Hungama ( Rs. 99 month), or Wynk ( Rs.99 month for Android, Rs. 120 month for iOS).

Genuine Windows?

Apple's computers come preloaded with the company's OS X operating system. However, when it comes to other brands, users can get laptops and desktops with or without Windows. There can be a significant price difference (roughly Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 5,000) if you choose a computer without a preloaded operating system. However, buying the OS bundled still saves you money. If you decide to install genuine Windows 10 on your computer at a later date, you will have to shell out Rs. 7,999 for Windows 10 Home edition and a huge Rs. 14,999 for Windows 10 Pro edition.